“In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do his work, to bear his glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there’s no danger that we will confuse God’s work with our own, or God’s glory with our own.”
― Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water
ROMANS 15:1-6
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify your holy Name, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
ART APPRECIATION
This painting of Monet’s is different from many of his other paintings. It is a gray, winter day. There is not a lot of natural light in the painting. The subject of the painting is not nature itself but a train. We see the train either arriving at or departing from the station.
1
Claude Monet (1840-1926) was born in Paris, though he later moved to Normandy when he was five to live with an older brother. He did not like being confined to a classroom and preferred being outside. He loved drawing from an early age and would draw caricatures of the people in his town. When he decided to study painting, he moved back to Paris. Monet was one of the most famous painters in art history and one of the founders of the Impressionist style. It was not uncommon for Monet to paint the same view of a subject several times to capture it in different lighting, sometimes lining up canvases and painting as quickly as he could. Some of Monet’s favorite subjects were the gardens around his home. The Waterlily Bridge is one of his most famous of these.
2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
“Boléro” by Maurice Ravel
Boléro, one-movement orchestral work composed by Maurice Ravel and known for beginning softly and ending, according to the composer’s instructions, as loudly as possible. Commissioned by the Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein, Boléro was first performed at the Paris Opéra on November 22, 1928, with a dance choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska. The work has been featured in many films since its creation, but it was an integral part of the plot in Blake Edwards’s film 10 (1979), starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek.
3
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was one of the most sophisticated musicians of the early 20th century. Showing great musical promise as a child, he began his piano studies at the Paris Conservatoire when he was just 14 years old. Ravel remained a Conservatoire student off and on for 14 years, adding composition classes with the renowned Gabriel Fauré.
Ravel enthusiastically sought out experiences with a wide range of music, attending performances, for example, at the 1889 Paris Exhibition, where he heard a Javanese gamelan, Russian music by Rimsky-Korsakov, and more. He also joined Les Apaches, a group of literary, musical, and artistic contemporaries which openly shared and discussed a range of cultural topics and trends.4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Boléro.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 17 Oct. 2024, http://www.britannica.com/topic/Bolero-by-Ravel.
↩︎ - “Who Was Maurice Ravel? A Brief Introduction.” Who Was Maurice Ravel? A Brief Introduction – Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, http://www.chambermusicsociety.org/news/who-was-maurice-ravel-a-brief-introduction/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024. ↩︎
Providence School of Tifton 